Page 30 - ISSUE_52

AARON PLESSINGER
250 MX / 1ST
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / TILLS
>> A couple of minor crashes and miscues have kept Southern Ohio’s Aaron Plessinger from being closer in the points standings but he made a move in the right direction last weekend at High Point. He got a pair of decent starts which lead to a pair of third place finishes for third overall. He finally managed to stay fast and consistent throughout the day so he was excited to see if he could keep things rolling heading into this weekend at Muddy Creek.
The track was a bit muddy early in the day for qualifying practice which are usually perfect conditions for Plessinger but he ended up struggling. He was only able to get the thir- teenth quickest time but would make the proper adjustments heading into the motos. When the gate dropped in moto one, a rare occurrence happened. Aaron Plessinger ripped a textbook holeshot and led the field to the green flag. He had Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo on his tail early but managed to build a comfortable three second cushion after a few laps. The gap stayed that way the rest of the race as Plessing- er kept plugging away and put in near flawless laps. He’d finish the moto with the win for his first of the year and without much challenge from anyone. He was stoked and ready to clinch his first overall since 2015 in moto two.
Déjà vu to begin the second moto as Plessinger rocketed out to yet another holeshot. Af- ter suffering from bad starts his entire career he appears to have finally found something that’s worked. He led the pack once again for the first few laps but this moto would be a little different. He had Zach Osborne on his tail rather than Cianciarulo. Osborne applied the pressure but Plessinger countered each attack and continued to hold a small lead. A few laps later the pressure from Osborne proved too much to handle and Plessinger made a crucial mistake exiting a corner leaving Osborne to slide by over the jump. Plessinger tried retaliating but could not match Osborne’s pace. He would stay relatively close the rest of them moto but never close enough to challenge. He’d settle with a comfortable second place which would be more than enough for the overall after Osborne’s fifth in moto one. Plessinger has been coming on strong as of late and after that 1-2 overall win performance, look for him to bring that swagger into July 4th weekend at Red Bud.
30 GRITMOTO • JUNE 25, 2017